Studio projects

A Valentine’s Day post

Valentine’s Day is as good as any day to inspire a little love and adventure in the community.

To celebrate our new name and adventure (Work Art Life by Studio Pip and Co. : more to come soon) we are calling artists, designers and creative people to create an A3 poster run, and post up in their local area for everyone to enjoy on and around 14.02.2012.

Entry is free. Spread the word. Take back Valentine’s Day – its the thought that counts.

Email us, FaceBook, Twitter – Be my real Valentine’s, make create, tweet yours and found pix of – Be my real Valentine – posters discovered on 14.02.2012. #bmrv2012

Download brief and sample poster here

For examples – see our effort last year here.

The rough – a typical corner in a café displaying free cultural promos

Come see our exhibition, bring friends, colleagues, interested strangers – a slice of OZ design awaits

26 August to 17 September 2011
Wed to Fri – 11.00am to 6.00pm
Sat – Noon to 5.00pm

Lamington Drive
15-25 Keele Street, Collingwood, Australia 3066
Telephone 03 8060 9745

Visit Lamington Drive here

Exhibition statement :

A memory of (print) design envy
1988 to 2011

Every year millions of tonnes of printed matter are developed to sell, promote, inform, catalogue, tell stories, or all of the above. A small percentage of this printed matter satisfies commercial needs while exploring creative practice.

The appeal of the projects displayed depends on the viewer. Beyond an individual’s likes or dislikes, these works demonstrate special qualities of creative play, idea generation, craft and detailing of image, form, type and layout development that makes them shine from the rough.

Australia lacks a diverse resource of its graphic design. This memory of printed work provides a rare opportunity to take in the diversity, vision, expression and skill developed by a truly talented bunch of (mostly) Australian designers and imagemakers. An Australian creative style, or way of making work may well be here somewhere.

Andrew has collected this work over 20 years. It was available for free (from cafes and bookshops), sent in the post, gifted, stolen, or purchased (for less than fifty dollars). This collection has the odd Studio Pip and Co. project for the cultural and design sectors, or it has been influenced in some way by these works.

This collection (be it a small slice) has no awards or formal merits attached to it, it is here for your enjoyment and reference.

I dedicate ‘Diamonds in the Rough’ to all my peers and their ability to consistently make fine and (often) enviable work. Aa

Production notes :

Lamington Drive contacted the studio in February to hold an exhibition mid year. Many ideas were tossed about, a studio retrospective etc, however in an age that seems to be about the self, liking something and generally placing oneself in the middle of everything, we struggled to find an idea that would appeal to us, as well as a broad audience.

Months passed nothing came to mind, however during the process of getting together content for desktop magazine a conversation with Stuart Geddes (Chase & Galley), over a beverage or too, hatched an idea which fit our needs and was accessible to a broad group of people. The exhibition was originally going to be called – So Annoying – an in joke with Stuart and a few other designers, however, an in joke, is a ‘in’ joke and new name was needed.

Diamonds in the Rough came together when working out the headline for our desktop 16 page pictorial piece. Diamond Dogs by David Bowie was kicking around the studio, and a colleague Marco Gjergja had recently name his studio Sawdust & Diamonds in homage to alt pop harpist diva Joanna Newsom. Diamonds seemed to need a context, home or presence.

The studio pulled together the exhibition in three weeks, off the back of Andrew’s Sydney talk, August 01. A Sydney now Berlin based colleague, Graeme Smith, used hand bag sealing process for a flat paper based exhibition for the Italian Chamber of Commence. We thought this process would be perfect for hand sealing, protecting and presenting physical printed objects across a range of sizes and thicknesses.

The project started with reviewing, sorting and shortlisting hundreds of pieces. After inspecting the space we felt there was an opportunity to present the objects hanging in the space, rather than being hung on the walls. With the print pieces in hand and some ideas, a plan was made, materials were sort, 8 to 14 objects were sealed in purpose made bags sealed to a sturdy yet simple coat hanger, 30 hanging bags were made including the prototypes.

A simple rig was purpose made for the space defining a 24 point 80 x 80 cm grid, the structure was made on site, garden hooks completed the presentation, allowing each hanger to move yet full into uniform perpendicular line. Flat A2 posters devised for the Desktop 25 year edition wallpapered on the short walls, Andrew handed applied the show graphic freehand, with a roller and a ten of red acrylic paint. Three days of collating, sorting, source and bad making and a day of assembly, brought together this simple yet very effective public show. A special thanks to Sam, Aimee and Piers for all your help.

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Set up images

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Opening night and Desktop 25 years launch, 01 September, images by John Deer with thanks

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Documentation images by Lynton Crabb with thanks

Friends, supporters, clients, peers and service partners of Studio Pip and Co.

In its ninth year Studio Pip and Co. is looking for a business partner, with a head for business, to complement and communicate the potential of our creative services to leading clients, brands and organisations. We are calling for expressions of interest from Melbourne based marketing, PR and business development professionals, from branding, design, communications, advertising, marketing, strategic and PR sectors looking to evolve their business practice.

We are seeking a proven professional to work with designer and director Andrew Ashton, to bring together skills, networks and experience, to develop a leading creative services studio which thinks, works and makes creative and thoughtful outcomes for leading clients, brands and organisations in the Asia Pacific region.

The studio over nine years has developed a professional, friendly and innovative reputation. Successful candidates will be determined by :

• Cultural fit and values
• Vision for creativity and communication services
• Experience and networks

The successful partner will contribute to shaping a new creative services group, bringing together studio products, developing studio’s communications channels, and will help shape new ventures such as, digital products, boutique creative recruitment services and a new region wide creative services model.

Next steps

• Interested candidates are invited to forward introductory letter and credentials
• Suitable candidates will be invited to a series of discussions exploring vision, financial steps, product and service and operational vision
• The potential partner will be invited to co-develop a probationary partnership model and business plan, heads of agreement and partnership roll out.

We invite our friends, supporters, clients, peers and service partners of Studio Pip and Co, to pass on this Expression of Interest to suitable people with a head for business – we are ready to develop, evolve and transform our creative practice.

Applications can made to Andrew Ashton via email only, toward(at)peoplethings(dot)com.

Many thanks

Andrew Ashton
Director

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Further information about the studio:

Visit our new website

http://peoplethings.com/

Visit our online store

http://studiopipandco.bigcartel.com/

Become our fan on FaceBook

http://www.facebook.com/studiopipandcoforever

Explore colour with us

http://www.thecolourcollective.com

Animated sample of identity

Why do we keep our work simple?

The creative process is often influenced by materials and tools. This statement is indeed relevant in the marketing and branding of today. Sophisticated graphic software allows today’s designer to embellish, fluff up, and bling their work now more than ever. With all the new tricks and toys one can’t help reflecting on the idea, that the outcome needs an idea, and the idea of decoration, is still only the idea : to decorate. I can hear my Grandfather mumbling… just because something exists doesn’t make it good, or a good suit can’t make a fat man look thin. In this situation one has to find comfort from the market, whom without fail have knack of spotting the fraud, embracing the original and then vote with their feet, wallets or attention. often without too much fuss.

The history of identity and brand is founded on simple and clear principles.

As designers raised in the late 1980s we can’t help being romanced by the pioneering brand identities of Paul Rand, Chermayeff & Geismar, Saul Bass, Michael Wolff, Gert Dumbar, in Australia : Tony Lunn, John Spatchurst, Brian Sadgrove, Garry Emery and Ken Cato. These people discovered and defined brand identity and had a vision for brand identity as clear, graphically robust, uncomplicated, backed up by a conceptual twist, a meaningful idea or dialogue.

Our communication response to Artwalk

Above and beyond the look, or the mark, or the brand, clients come to us because they want to create a visual point of difference, so that they can help customers choose their products, create a commercial story and ultimately develop enough interest and awareness to create new and repeat transactions. In other words, for the CFOs, business owners, our work helps clients to create more income and grow market share.

The commercial aim of this project is create a new brand identity for this programme, develop a distinctive commercial visual, foster the growth of awareness and stimulate new customer transactions. The market are people of all ages who appreciate art, walking and Melbourne as a cultural precinct.

The identity for Artwalk Melbourne was a gift for our designers. The name, the distinctive visual clichés held by the broader community, helped us to define the idea of artwork; portrait canvas, then strap onto our canvas legs made up of a capital ‘A’ and there you have a symbol for “Walking Art” or “Moving Art”. We mixed typefaces to contrast traditional and contemporary themes. The differing scales of the typography suggest, depth and potential movement. We have also created a range icons to strap onto our legs which include art concept and artists themselves. Colour and images are not fixed allowing the idea of diversity to come through. See the following concept images and visuals.

Concept visual used to illustrate the "Walking Art" concept

The brand identity proposal in visual context

Concept drawings "Walking Art" marketing images

In the early days of this project we have assisted the client to develop the brand identity and marketing story, develop a marketing proposal and collateral shortlist which starts with a modest range of print collateral, and to focus upon developing a robust web presence and social media campaign.

Thank you Artwalk for a wonderful collaboration, watch this space for further development of the brand identity and market collateral.

Visit Artwalk here

Type and graphic detail

Mono identity

Colour identity - orange option

Mono symbol

Cover

Series type detail

First reveal

Internal spread – notes and disks

So Frenchy So Chic / The Unofficial Soundtrack to the 2011 French Film Festival / Australia wide
type mark and symbol / colour and mono / CD packaging, poster, PR, advertising
Developed 2011 / 6 week project

A chic diva by Kat floats in a cocktail of type and dreamy bubbles. Thanks to JF for another great collaboration.

Purchase your copy, visit Cartell Music or Cartell Downloads for details.

Completed Christmas gift

Felt pouch, customised docket book, complete with pencils

Coffee Supreme is a coffee roaster who enjoys the inventive, creating and discovery process. Charged with a brief to make something useful for Christmas, the studio collaborated and devised a café order kit.

In over twenty years Andrew has produced a range of custom gifts – shoulder bags, folios, coffee cups, pencils, stickers, aprons, hankerchiefs, garments, jackets, hats, diaries, folders, paper kits and paper accessories. Behind the presentation of a felt pocket, a folder or garment is a nutty process of chasing down materials, skilled makers and co-ordinating the production of components. Key to these projects are quality manufacturers and makers. As many Australian manufacturers have closed in the last two decades, due to cheaper offshore manufacturers, our makers have become a cherished group of skilled manufacturers, that we scour industrial estates, regional factories and chase down leads to find.

The outcome we devised had several components – a bespoke felt pouch, sealed with custom printed cloth tape, we sourced old school docket books and pencils to complete the kit. Each element required detailed drawing, artwork, material sourcing, production specification and production supervision with the final product coming together in under six weeks. Supreme made savings in time and money by chasing up estimates, samples, prototype, delivery of components and production supervision.

Happy Christmas Supreme, thanks again for another interesting communication project.

Hong Kong is one of those great cities where the heights of nature and man made activity clash. Set on the side of a picturesque harbour with towering mountains, rocketing buildings reach to the sky like some sort of suburban picket fence gone wild. Andrew was in Hong Kong for five days during the 2010 Business of Design Week. In between speaking commitments a little wandering took place with his willing camera.

The studio has relocated back to our Balaclava studio this weekend. Reading back when we moved in – The point of the project was to challenge the public perception of designers, studio and the process — Do designers wear black, are they kooking out being creative, does a computer do it all, is it magic that makes the work, or is it a whole lot of passive huff and puff.

The realty of the project was – over a thousand people passed by the shop front a day, and we still have little idea of whether the project had much impact in changing perceptions of designers. Never-the-less at least ten to twenty people a day read the text on the window, we had hundreds of people drop by, many friends and clients, some strangers. We sold a few products, we won an award for the project, made a few new clients, many new friends, and we have the months ahead to see whether people, ideas, projects pop out of the wood work having seen, been to, or noticed our shop in the last eight months.

Was the effort in doing the ‘pop up’ project worthwhile? – is a question we are often asked. The change of scene was definitely worth it, designers can often be closely wed to their space and we discovered that a studio can happen, very quickly, and potentially anywhere. We are open to the ‘idea of the studio’ to be a state of mind, rather than a physical space. We also observed that the modern phenomena of – having a studio – runs parallel with modern society’s occupation with the material. Upon reflection of the studios one has experienced around the world, it is remarkable how much effort is poured into a studio space, when often many designers will admit that their clients rarely visit their space in the daily runnings of work process.

The question remains when considering the modern studio – So who are we making these spaces for? To impress suppliers, staff, or peers, to create a perfect space to make great work, a financial investment, or to invest our time in finding our expression in the build space? This process has certainly uncovered and challenges some ideas built up in contemporary design. This idea of place reminds one of the climax in E.M Forster’s fluffy book– Room with a View, with a line by Mr. Emerson senior to Mr Emerson Junior, proclaiming his feelings in terms of contentment – he proclaimed that in his imagination – Here is where the flowers bloom, here is where the birds sing… One doesn’t need much in terms of studio to produce rewarding work.

That said, one could not imagine the Gollings Pidgeon Flood Slicer’s annual Christmas knees up anywhere else, but in their great studio in East St Kilda, on a balmy Summer’s eve. One also recalls that Horniack & Canny had a similar tradition that rocked number 1 Barrack Street Sydney on a Summer’s eve too. Those guys know what it takes to make a get-together, great.

Many warm thanks goes to Michael Yates and Ben Buxton for this opportunity and making a great space happen. David and Chris Jolly at Jollytel for the great phone system and IT support, Jardan Australia for the fantastic comfy uber furntiture, Gunn & Taylor for your great print love and Paperpoint for the fine papers.

During the project we had several fantastic sponsors and services partners of which we are greatly indebted and thank :

• Seven Yarra for making our “pop up” space available
• Jardan Australia is showcasing their Australian designed and made furniture at our space
• Optix paper by Australian Paper is the official studio paper manufacturer
• Paperpoint is the official paper and envelope supplier
• Gunn & Taylor is our printing partner
• Jollytel and JollyMac is our wonderful IP telecommunication and computers partner
• PLAnet Cup is our compostable paper cup
• Kate Keane Publicity will be telling our story to the media

Let’s see what happens when you add a dash of design, and if there are any funds spare next time have a party…

Homewrecker 101 A

Homewrecker 101 B – detail

Homewrecker 101 C

Homewreckers series, Melbourne / Studio Pip and Co. image making project
Photographer Andrew Ashton / November 2010

In the suburbs a Homewrecker can mean several things – a building demolition crew, or an adult outside a family unit that tempts the mother or the father into a extra marital sexually based affair. Homewreckers have strewn history and have made trouble across classes and cultures, as well as making sudden big gaps in the streetscape. Beware the Homewrecker.